Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) Position Boosted by Invesco Ltd.

Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 25.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 5,991,445 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,231,120 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd.’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $1,039,935,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in FERG. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,007,892 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,740,049,000 after purchasing an additional 1,539,889 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 3.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,541,079 shares of the company’s stock valued at $905,230,000 after purchasing an additional 161,662 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Ferguson by 944.4% during the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 3,537,155 shares of the company’s stock worth $613,944,000 after purchasing an additional 3,198,477 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Ferguson by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,215,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $557,082,000 after purchasing an additional 18,036 shares during the period. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its stake in Ferguson by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 2,804,595 shares of the company’s stock worth $486,814,000 after buying an additional 192,052 shares during the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ferguson Stock Performance

FERG opened at $155.22 on Monday. Ferguson plc has a 52-week low of $144.82 and a 52-week high of $225.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.68. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $171.69 and a 200-day moving average of $186.33. The company has a market cap of $31.04 billion, a PE ratio of 18.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.17.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.58 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.76 billion. Ferguson had a net margin of 5.68% and a return on equity of 34.63%. Ferguson’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.74 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on FERG shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a “hold” rating and a $174.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $205.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Ferguson from $234.00 to $189.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Robert W. Baird set a $190.00 target price on Ferguson and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Ferguson from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $185.00 to $225.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ferguson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $198.62.

About Ferguson

Ferguson plc distributes plumbing and heating products in the United States and Canada. It offers plumbing and heating solutions to customers in the residential, commercial, civil/infrastructure, and industrial end markets. The company also provides expertise, solutions, and products, including infrastructure, plumbing, appliances, fire, fabrication, and others, as well as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning products under the Ferguson brand name.